Executor for a will, explain it to me like a was a baby!

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Df has been in hospital recently a few times. Df and dm are now updating wills, paying for funerals etc. They would like me as their daughter to be the executor of any wills. What does that entail?
I thought an executor couldn't inherite anything?
Please explain it to me as if I'm stupid .

An executor is just the person who makes sure that the will is carried out as the testator intended. It can absolutely be the same person as the beneficiary. There's a helpful government guide to all the things you do when someone dies (not just as executor, but that's in there too): https://www.gov.uk/when-someone-dies. As they are planning for this now, you can ask them to make a list of all their bank accounts, investments etc. so that you know who to contact when the time comes.

As executor you basically take over all administrative capabilities ranging from sky TV to banks etc. You need to contact everyone and close the accounts and either pay the balance (eg if there is money owed on the water bill) or receive any excess funds (eg TV license is pro rated if the licensee dies part way through the year), gather them all in and then pay debtors first then beneficiaries according to the will.

OP I think you might be confusing the fact that a witness to a will cannot be a beneficiary - due to the potential for fraud/ manipulation.

An executor absolutely can be a beneficiary.

Thanks all. I don't mind doing all admin type stuff. I think my dm will be useless she doesn't do money. My dad still gives her an allowance.

I'll get him to write down all passcodes etc now
I guess it's good that he is thinking about it now. But does make me worry that they haven't told me something.

You don't need the passcodes - you just need to know what accounts they have and with which institutions. When they die, you inform those banks and give them a copy of the will to prove you're the executor.

If your mum is really rubbish with money, it might be an idea to make sure that your dad keeps plenty of money in joint accounts. That way she will be able to access their joint money if he dies first.

Remember you don't actually have to do it all yourself either, you can ask (and pay for obviously) a solicitor to do a lot of it for you when the time comes. My brother and I both had a lot going on in our lives when our mother died unexpectedly so we got a solicitor to help. It was a huge help and weight off us.

You will need to do the administration. Even if it seems like there’s no point.

you don’t need passcodes. The last thing you need is to be illegally accessing accounts of a deceased person. You produce the death certificate and will and they will give you access to whatever you need.

in brief you will get death certificate, and close all accounts or transfer into the surviving spouse’s name. Depending on the amounts you may not need probate. Essentially you need probate if accounts will not be released to you without it, or if the spouse isn’t the beneficiary.

keep a spreadsheet. Obtain bank accounts for the last 7 years and note any gifts. Once the funeral and debts are paid you distribute the rest to the beneficiaries.

the spreadsheet may seem pointless now, but when the second spouse dies you will need it to calculate IHT.

Do not get their passwords, this is breaching the T&Cs of your agreement with the bank. Just a list of where they hold accounts and the account number is all you want / need.

A solicitor can act as executor if you don't feel up to it. There is a charge of course but it can be worth it for the ease. You can decide later to ask a solicitor to do it if you are named as executor in the will.

When my Mum died I was obviously very upset. DH got some computer software that led us through the executor task in the correct order and gave us template letters we just had to personalised with Mums name, date of birth and current date and add in our address. It made it easy. There's also a service called Tell us Once on the gov website. A practical tip OP, get at least 4 death certificates because everyone you write to will want one and they don't all return them.

Do you have Power of Attorney for your parents? I would suggest that if your dad is unwell and your mum doesn't cope well with finances that this may be a useful thing to organise, as there may be a period where your dad is not able to take care of this himself and for the future to be able to support your mum.

I think if you are aware of where their bank accounts/any savings are etc then it would give you a head start in sorting anything out as part of a will. Once a person has died then their accounts are frozen, although your other parent would have access to any joint account (and if they are all joint it makes it easier) in the first instance. (This is assuming that they have mirror wills with each other to inherit and you inheriting when they are both gone.)

With Power of Attorney you will be able to deal with banks, utilities etc on their behalf without needing their passcodes.

I second getting POA for health and welfare for both your parents. I have this for my father and my husband for his father. I have appointed my children as my attorneys already. I deal with all my dad's transactions now as he is a bit slower though compis mentis as is FIL but he has limited sight and is very deaf. Get both types health & welfare and finance & property.

Its pretty straight forward, so long as the Will isn't contentious or involves property outside of England/UK.

Bear in mind Probate can take an age and that once you start ie register the death or make some other substantive administration, you cannot renounce being an executor, if you want a Solicitor to deal with it all.

When you register the death, hopefully some time away, get several death cert's, as you'll need these when dealing with banks etc..

There is a service - Tell us Once - where you can register the death at one portal but they will inform many different organisations.... Council, Pensions, HMRC.. etc

All such useful advice. I'll speak to them about a POA.
They don't have a joint account so that's a worry. We wouldn't be able to financially support my mum if my dad's account is frozen.

Just to add that while executors can now be beneficiaries of wills (at least in England) I'm pretty sure that that hasn't always been the case.

I seem to remember my mother being someone's executor back in the 1960s/1970s and she wasn't allowed to inherit anything.

If you do ask a solicitor to deal with it on your behalf any fees will be taken out of the estate, you won't need to pay them personally.

you need to get them to future proof their lives incase one of them dies.

1. open a joint bank account. Put money into it.
2. make sure all bills are in joint names - it will be so much easier than having to change it all over when one of them dies.
3. tell your dad he needs to talk to your mum about their financial situation so she understands it.
4. power of attorney.
5. get them to create a file that has passwords / bank account details etc etc in it and get them to tell you where it is so you can find it if needed.

Also, you say you cant financially support your mum if your dad dies - can she financially support herself in that scenario? Pensions etc? The time to think about this is now, not in the depths of grief.

Day to day she'd be OK food shopping and stuff. But if the direct debits for bills can't come out of df's account I couldn't cover them.
She's showing signs of forgetfulness so I don't think she'd understand a joint account as they never had one.
It's a difficult thing to think about. Them dying but df has suddenly visibility got older.

I wouldn’t rush into getting joint accounts, though your mum having some money in her own name would be useful.

My parents only had joint accounts, one of them is now in a care home with care home fees burning through the other parents very good pension, because all of their money was in joint names.

Again, Do not get passwords. Do not access someone else’s bank account without the proper authority.

you don’t need them if you do it properly (legally). Get third party authority, power of attorney, or executor. These will all give you access without needing passwords.

just don’t. If they are deceased it’s fraud by false representation- you’re effectively pretending to be the deceased to access their bank account.

If you do have power of attorney that ends on death so won't help you get access to accounts.

Have a joint account set up and make sure there's enough money in it to cover expenses for 4 months or so if you can.

The bereavement services at the big banks are generally very helpful make the transition smooth.

The person who is not in care , their money should not be being used.
Can they open their own account to keep their money separate ?

@Whycanineverthinkofone I didn’t mean passwords for bank accounts, I more meant things like passcodes for computers etc - if everything is stored on an iPad and it’s finger print / face protected, then being able to know the passcodes etc are useful.

in my death file I don’t have specific passwords for my online banking, but I do have the passcode for my phone in case someone needs to access it. If nothing else to take the photos off it!

I have recently completed probate for my late DM, if you don’t mind the admin it can be very straightforward. Probate costs £300 if you do it yourself and £1.50 for each certificate. Even if it's more complicated I would still start the process and you could always get legal advice later should you need it. Using a solicitor can be expensive when you can do all/most of the collecting of info yourself. You say they are in the process of updating the Will, if you can encourage them to get it finalised then do as this saves much hassle later on! From my own experience it’s important for you to know where the Will is. We couldn’t find any details for a while which was stressful in an already stressful situation. Hopefully you won’t have to deal with this any time soon but the more info you can get together the easier it will be when the time comes.

I’m an executor and have instructed the solicitor to basically do everything. It’s quite a complex messy job because of the circumstances at the time of death aswell as the nature of how the death came about so there would have been a huge amount to deal with (along with dealing with the grief). It’s been a huge weight off my mind tbh. They email me every now and then with something to sign or send paperwork through with the bit to sign all highlighted and ready to send back to them with an SAE. I think if I’m ever asked to be an executor again I’ll be doing the same thing just for ease.